It’s a tough year for year-end tax planning
Advisers face the difficult task of helping clients plan for next year without knowing for certain which party will control the Senate.
Personal Financial Planning
Using trusts in divorce tax planning
A trust set up as part of a divorce settlement can ensure economic protection of the couple’s long-term obligations and provide tax benefits.
Early distributions from retirement plans related to COVID-19
The IRS has provided procedures to allow individuals to take early distributions from certain retirement plans under the CARES Act.
Recent developments in estate planning: Part 2
This second of a two-part article discusses regulations on calculating the basic exclusion amount once the higher estate tax exemption expires after 2025, as well as several court cases and IRS private letter rulings.
Inflation-adjusted income ranges for 2021 IRA and 401(k) plans
The IRS announced that the income ranges for employee participation in workplace 401(k) plans and IRA contributions will increase from 2020 to 2021. Most of the other retirement plan contribution limits stayed the same, however.
Unclaimed property distributions allowed as self-certified rollovers
The IRS issued guidance adding state unclaimed property fund distributions to the list of reasons that taxpayers may self-certify that they missed the 60-day deadline to roll over funds to a qualified retirement plan.
Another alert for IRAs investing in master limited partnerships
This article discusses what is needed to help clients who have an IRA invested in PTPs pay the correct amount of tax.
ABLE account final rules provide wide-ranging guidance
Eligible individuals with disabilities received guidance from the IRS on the rules regarding ABLE accounts. Tax-favored ABLE accounts allow eligible individuals to save money to meet qualified disability expenses.
Tax incentives for college students: Part 2
This second of a two-part article discusses the taxability of scholarships and who gets the deduction for repaying the student loans.
Recent developments in estate planning: Part 1
This first part of the annual update covers trust and gift tax issues, including regulations explaining deductions permitted for trusts and estates after the TCJA eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions for individuals.
Tax incentives for college students: Part 1
This article examines planning issues when a student is a young child whose parents are saving for college and when the student is a young adult paying for college.
Developing a solid approach to advising clients on Roth IRAs
Tax advisers should develop a profiling system for identifying clients who are best suited to take advantage of Roth IRAs now that eligibility to participate in this popular retirement investment vehicle has been significantly expanded over the past decade.
Taking CARES Act distributions from qualified plans
The IRS released guidance on how taxpayers can take coronavirus-related distributions from qualified retirement plans as authorized by the CARES Act.
Recovery rebates: Tax planning pitfalls and opportunities
The CARES Act enacted a recovery rebate tax credit to help individual taxpayers through the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This article discusses strategies to lower a taxpayer’s 2020 AGI to avoid a phaseout of the credit and other strategies for maximizing the credit a taxpayer receives.
IRS announces 2021 HSA limits
The IRS issued its annual inflation-adjusted contribution limits for contributions to health savings accounts permitted to participants in high-deductible health plans. Most of the amounts increased slightly over the 2020 amounts.
RIC shareholders can take Sec. 199A deduction for REIT dividends
The IRS issued final regulations allowing regulated investment companies (RICs) to report qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends as Sec. 199A dividends to their shareholders.
Rollover relief for required minimum distributions
The IRS provides relief for taxpayers who had already taken required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2020 before the CARES Act suspended the RMD requirement for 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on taxpayers and the stock market.
Guidance on how to take CARES Act distributions from qualified plans
The IRS released guidance on how taxpayers can take coronavirus-related distributions from qualified retirement plans as authorized by the CARES Act.
Qualified opportunity zone rules are relaxed
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS further postponed the 180-day deadline to invest in a qualified opportunity fund from July 15, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, extended other deadlines, and relaxed some qualified investment rules.
Four financial planning opportunities to take advantage of in 2020
Advisers to high-net-worth clients should emphasize strategies that take advantage of lifetime gifting, charitable planning, and Roth accounts, as well as low interest rates and depressed asset values.
